


The Decision

by Vanilla_Owns_Chocolate



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: Autism Spectrum, Sign Language
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-12
Updated: 2018-07-12
Packaged: 2019-06-08 13:11:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,709
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15244110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vanilla_Owns_Chocolate/pseuds/Vanilla_Owns_Chocolate
Summary: Moon has to make the toughest choice of her life. Luckily, Leaf is there to help.





	The Decision

Moon heaved a sigh, wiping the sweat from her face. Alola's heat was still difficult to get used to, and she had only been here a week and a half. She took off her signature red cap to let her damp hair hang loose, surveying her surroundings with a growing feeling of pride.

Finally, after all this time, she was here: the Battle Tree. It had taken her nearly all day (not to mention almost all of her Fresh Waters and Lemonades) to reach her destination, but the inviting shade of the giant plant was a sight to behold to the young Trainer. After days of training, she had not only become Champion of Alola, but had gained access to one of the most prestigious battling groups known throughout the world. The Battle Tree was practically a hub for famous and influential Trainers, and she couldn't stop a nervous excitement from building in her stomach at the thought of meeting one of them.

"Hey, you!" a voice called out from ahead, and Moon had to raise her hand to her forehead to see past the blinding sunlight. When she did, her eyes widened in complete and utter shock, a lump forming in her throat.

Standing in front of her were two adult male figures, though their appearances were vastly different. The taller of the two, whose spiky auburn hair and relaxed pose made it all too clear who he was, seemed to be addressing her. His partner, whose cap cast a shadow over the top of his face, had an unreadable expression, but one look in his brown eyes told Moon everything there was to know about his identity.

"You're Moon, right?" said the redhead, his voice practically radiating confidence. The girl swallowed hard, praying that her face didn't betray how utterly shocked and awed she was, and nodded mutely.

"See, Red?" he said to his companion. "I still got it!"

The shorter man, Red, rolled his eyes, but there was no malice in the gesture. He turned back to the young Trainer before him and gave her a faint smile, which caused even more Butterfree to well up in her stomach. She wondered, still in a daze, whether it would be appropriate to excuse herself to throw up.

"The name's Blue! This guy is Red." said the other man, though he didn't need to introduce himself to Moon. She already knew who they were; she was from Kanto, after all. She had dreamed of this moment for years since she was a little girl.

See, Moon was kind of hyperfixated on Red and Blue. They were her idols, the Trainers she had modeled her entire journey off of, the ones she looked up to as long as she could remember. She had read countless interviews with them, watched numerous videos of their battles, and had even seen their documentary dozens of times. And now, years later, at the tender age of 11, she was finally meeting them, and they were _willingly talking to her._

"Nice to meet you! And hey, congrats on becoming Champion of Alola!" Blue continued, extending his hand for a handshake. Moon stared at it dumbly for at least three seconds before blinking away her shock and reciprocating. "We were both Champions of the Kanto region, in our own days. Nice to meet a fellow Champ, yeah? What do you say, Red?"

Moon bit her lip and looked over at Red, who still didn't say anything. He just nodded slightly, his expression unmoving.

"Still as silent as ever, eh?" Blue chuckled, shaking his head and turning back to Moon. "Look, I'm a Trainer, so if I see another strong Trainer, I'm gonna want to fight them. So how about a battle?"

Moon froze, her heart thumping loudly in her chest. Was this actually happening?? Was one of her role models actually offering to battle her? One of her clammy hands instinctively trailed down to her pocket, where the Poké Ball containing her beloved Primarina resided. If she won, would she impress him or make him mad? If she lost, would she disappoint him? Her Pokémon were exhausted from hours of training and needed a proper rest, and oh Arceus, she needed to heal, she needed to-

Blue's voice cut through her panicking, and what he said caused her heart to sink faster than it had risen. "Which of us'll you choose?"

...Wait, what?

 _Choose?!_ Moon thought anxiously, her mind racing. How was she supposed to choose between her two idols?? No, no, no, there was no way. There had to be some other option, but...

Moon considered the possibilities, apprehension welling up in her chest. She couldn't fight both of them at once; her Pokémon weren't equipped for a double battle right now, especially with two of the strongest Trainers in Kanto. She didn't want to say no, either, as she couldn't bear the thought of making them wait for her to fly to the Pokémon Center and back.

"Uh, kid? You okay?" Blue asked uncertainly, his smile faltering.

Moon's mind continued to race, struggling to decide which of the two would be the best opponent for her to face. They were both equally strong, but Red was technically the one who beat Blue to become Champion...still, she wasn't sure whether or not a battle against the stronger of the two would be good for her team, and she would hate to disappoint the other.

[ _I..._ ] she signed, hands wavering as she looked back and forth between the two. Their expressions had now shifted to those of concern, and she hated herself for making them worry about her just after getting to meet them. [ _I..._ ]

"Hey, guys, what's going on over here?" came a sudden voice from behind them, and they all whirled around to see who it was.

Moon gasped, acutely aware of how dry her own throat was as she gazed at the woman trotting toward them. Her loose brown hair was tied in a ponytail, a big white sunhat casting her in a shadow, but there was no mistake as to her identity.

"Oh, hey, Leaf, what took ya so long?" Blue greeted with a wave. "Playin' with that imaginary Bewear again?"

"Very funny," the woman replied with a roll of her eyes. She turned to Red, her older brother, and jerked her head in Moon's direction. "Who's this?"

[ _Her name's Moon. She's Alola's current Champion._ ] Red signed back, seeming more relaxed in the presence of his sister. Leaf looked down at Moon with a smile.

"Oh, cool! It's nice to meet you, Moon. My name's Leaf, and I'm the Champ of Kanto." She stooped down to the girl's level, and Moon felt her breath catch in her throat. She waved sheepishly, her eyes wide.

"Welcome to the Battle Tree!" Leaf continued, adjusting her hat. "Here, you'll find all kinds of powerful Trainers from various Pokémon Leagues around the world. You gotta battle a bunch to get to 'em, though."

Moon nodded, still reeling from the presence of the Champion in front of her. If there was anybody she loved more than Red and Blue, it was her. If they were her idols, Leaf was her _hero,_ being the only Trainer capable of defeating both Red and Blue and assisting in the defeat of Team Rocket in Kanto, even if her achievements were never properly acknowledged compared to theirs. Moon always thought it was unfair how so many people downplayed Leaf's contributions to the Kanto region and its Pokémon League, even if she was the current Champion.

And now, here she was, greeting her with an easy grin as if they were equals.

Without thinking, Moon scrambled to sign, [ _Can I battle you, please?_ ], too caught up in the moment to care about the little part of her conscience that chastised her for being so direct.

Leaf didn't seem to mind, though, laughing good-naturedly. "Oh, wow, really? It's been a long time since someone challenged me to a battle!"

"You have, like, 58 BP." Blue stated bluntly, folding his arms in amusement.

"I mean like a casual battle, not a competitive one," Leaf said matter-of-factly, sticking out her tongue at her friend, "and besides, it's not like you two haven't been challenged by nearly every single person we met on the way."

Blue shrugged. "What can I say? I can't refuse a challenge, and Red can't resist a chance to let his Pokémon out."

[ _I always feel bad for leaving them in there._ ] Red confirmed.

[ _Me too!_ ] Moon signed eagerly, taking out her Primarina's Poké Ball and turning to Leaf. [ _That's why I'm challenging you to a battle! ...If you want one!_ ] She hesitated before adding that last part, lowering her head in embarrassment.

Leaf chuckled and reached for her satchel, removing one of her own Poké Balls. "Are you sure? Not to sound like Blue, but I'm pretty tough. Are your Pokémon ready?"

Moon, finally remembering the state of her team, began to panic, but Leaf held up a hand reassuringly. "Don't worry, I can heal them for you if you want. Then we can have an awesome battle together, Champ versus Champ!"

"Go easy on her, Leaf," Blue warned, "we don't want this battle to last all day. Remember when you challenged Cynthia earlier?"

[ _Cynthia's here?!_ ] Moon signed with a gasp. Leaf smiled and nodded, accepting the Poké Ball and retrieving a Max Potion from her bag.

"Yep! Now, fair warning, I can get pretty competitive. Do you want me to hold back, or...?" She opened the ball and sprayed some of the Potion on the sea lion, causing it to hum contentedly in its majestic voice.

[ _No way!_ ] responded Moon enthusiastically. [ _I've always wanted to see you battle up close!_ ]

"Aww, man," Blue complained, "this isn't fair. We were here first." Red elbowed him in the side, rolling his eyes. Leaf just ignored him.

"Well then, it's a good thing I'm healing your Pokémon," she replied with a wink, "cuz they're gonna need it!"

[ _Bring it on!_ ] Moon challenged, barely able to contain her excitement.

And so it was that Moon didn't have to make a decision between Red and Blue, because Leaf just solved all her problems.

**Author's Note:**

> @ nintendo its gr8 that youre bringin leaf back for smash but can you put her in a mainstream pokemon game again pls


End file.
